Flower shaped Zn2In2S5/FeIn2S4 as a promising S-Scheme heterojunction photocatalyst for superior ciprofloxacin removal

Abstract

In recent years, refractory pharmaceutical pollutants have emerged as a major environmental and public health concern. An interesting strategy that has recently emerged is photocatalysis, which involves directly breaking down these environmental pollutants using visible light. However, the rapid combining of the photogenerated charges is a major issue with this method, leading to instability and low efficiency. This work presents the development of a Zn2In2S5/FeIn2S4 (ZIS-/FIS) heterojunction photocatalyst, which is an effective photocatalyst for the degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) when exposed to visible light. When compared to pure ZIS and FIS, the resultant ZIS-/FIS S-type heterojunction shows significantly better visible light-driven photocatalytic performance. Specifically, 20ZIS/FIS catalyst exhibits the highest photocatalytic efficiency for CIP breakdown, reaching 90.03% at 10 mg/L concentration in 120 min. Through scavenging experiments and ESR findings, it has been demonstrated that •O2- and •OH are the primary active species that are involved in the degrading process. The higher adsorption ability, heightened light harvesting, and increased separation rate of carriers that resulted from the synergistic effect of the components are the primary factors that are responsible for the superior removal performance. The results of this work offer a realistic reference for the construction of novel heterojunction photocatalysts for the purpose of maintaining environmental cleanliness.